On Blue's waters Read online

  On Blue’s Waters

  Gene Wolfe

  PROPER NAMES IN THE TEXT

  Many of the persons and places mentioned in this book first appeared in The Book of the Long Sun, to which the reader is referred. In the following list, the most significant names are given in CAPITALS, less significant names in lower case.

  Alubukham, a concubine.

  Auk, a Vironese burglar.

  BABBIE, a tame hus.

  Bahar, one of the RAJAN’s ministers.

  Barsat, a woodcutter.

  Beled, a coastal town on Blue settled by people from Trivigaunte.

  Blazingstar, a New Vironese merchant.

  Blood, a crime lord, now dead.

  BLUE, the better of the two habitable planets of the SHORT SUN System.

  Book of Silk, HORN and NETTLE’s great literary work, also called The Book of the Long Sun.

  Brother, a small boy living with his sister in a forest northwest of GAON.

  Bush, a tavern in PAJAROCU.

  Chandi, a concubine.

  Chenille, the woman who accompanied Auk to GREEN.

  Choora, a long, straight, single-edged knife favored by the RAJAN.

  Chota, a nickname given EVENSONG by her fellow concubines. Trooper Darjan, a Gaonese boy.

  Dorp, a coastal town.

  Echidna, a major goddess, the mother of the gods of the LONG SUN WHORL.

  Eschar, a New Vironese merchant.

  EVENSONG, the concubine given the RAJAN OF GAON by the MANOFHAN.

  Gadwall, a New Vironese smith.

  GAON, a troubled inland town on BLUE.

  Geier, one of travelers assembled in PAJAROCU.

  Gelada, a convict murdered by Auk long ago.

  GREEN, the worse of the habitable planets of the SHORT SUN System.

  Gyrfalcon, a New Vironese merchant.

  Corporal Hammerstone, a soldier in the army of VIRON.

  HAN, a populous town south of GAON.

  HARIMAU, the citizen who brought the RAJAN to GAON.

  He-bring-skin, a citizen of PAJAROCU.

  He-bold-fire, the captain of PAJAROCU’s lander.

  He-pen-sheep, a hunter.

  He-sing-spell, one of He-hold-fire’s subordinates.

  He-take-bow, one of He-hold-fire’s subordinates.

  Hephaestus, a minor god of the LONG SUN WHORL.

  Hide, one of HORN’S twin sons.

  Hierax, a major god of the LONG SUN WHORL, the god of death.

  Hoof, one of HORN’s twin sons.

  Hoop, one of the RAJAN’s scribes.

  Aunt Hop, one of NETTLE’s sisters.

  HORN, a New Vironese paper-maker, the protagonist.

  Hyacinth, SILK’s beautiful wife.

  Jahlee, an inhuma rescued by the RAJAN and EVENSONG.

  Kilhari, a hunter of GAON.

  KRAIT, the inhumu adopted by HORN.

  Kypris, the goddess of love in the LONG SUN WHORL.

  Lake Limna, a large lake south of VIRON.

  Lal, a small boy of GAON, Mehman’s grandson.

  LIZARD, an island north of NEW VIRON, the site of HORN’s mill.

  LONG SUN WHORL, the interior of the WHORL.

  Mahawat, the RAJAN’s elephant driver.

  Main, the eastern continent.

  Mamelta, the sleeper rescued by SILK, now dead.

  MAN OF HAN, the ruler of HAN.

  Maytera MARBLE, the former sibyl who accompanied the colonists to BLUE and resumed her vocation there, a chem.

  MARROW, a New Vironese merchant.

  Mehman, the RAJAN’s head gardener.

  General Mint, the heroine of VIRON’s revolution, also known as Maytera Mint.

  Molybdenum, a name assumed by Maytera MARBLE.

  Mota, a citizen of GAON.

  The Mother, a monstrous sea-goddess of BLUE.

  Moti, a concubine.

  MUCOR, a young woman possessing paranormal powers.

  NADI, a river flowing past GAON.

  Namak, an officer in the horde of GAON.

  Nauvan, an advocate.

  NEIGHBORS, BLUE’s sentient native race.

  NETTLE, HORN’s wife.

  NEW VIRON, the town on BLUE founded by colonists from VIRON.

  Olivine, a young chem of VIRON.

  OREB, a tame night chough.

  OUTSIDER, the only god trusted by SILK.

  PAJAROCU, a phantom town on BLUE’s western continent.

  Pas, a major god, the father of the gods in the LONG SUN WHORL.

  Pehla, the RAJAN’s principal concubine. fig, a mercenary of the LONG SUN WHORL.

  Patera Pike, Patera SILK’s predecessor.

  Quadrifons, an aspect of the OUTSIDER in the LONG SUN WHORL.

  Patera Quetzal, the inhumu who became Prolocutor of VIRON.

  The RAJAN OF GAON, the narrator.

  Rajya Mantri, the RAJAN’s principal minister.

  Ram, a citizen of GAON.

  The Rani, the ruler of Trivijfaunte.

  Patera Remom, the head of the Chapter in NEW VIRON.

  Maytera Rose, an elderly sibyl, now dead.

  Roti, a citizen of GAON.

  General Saba, an officer in the horde of Trivigaunte.

  Sciathan, the Flier who accompanied SILK, HORN, and others to Mainframe.

  Scleroderma, a friend of Maytera MARBLE’S, now dead.

  Scylla, a major goddess of the LONG SUN WHORL, the patroness of VIRON.

  SEAWRACK, a one-armed maiden.

  Shadelow, HORN’S name for the western continent.

  She-pick-berry, He-pen-sheep’s wife.

  SHORT SUN, the star orbited by the WHORL.

  Patera SILK, the caldé of Viron at the time the colonists boarded their landers, also called Caldé SILK.

  SINEW, HORN and NETTLE’s eldest son.

  Sister, a small girl living with her brother in a forest northwest of GAON.

  Generalissimo Siyuf, the commander of the Rani’s horde.

  Skany, an inland town some distance from GAON.

  Somvar, an advocate.

  Captain Strik, a master mariner of Dorp.

  Sun Street, a wide diagonal avenue in VIRON.

  Tail, the southern end of LIZARD Island.

  Tamarind, a fishmonger’s widow.

  Tartaros, a major god of the LONG SUN WHORL, the god of darkness and commerce, and the patron of thieves.

  Thelxiepeia, a major goddess of the LONG SUN WHORL, the goddess of learning, trickery, and magic.

  Three Rivers, an inland town near NEW VIRON.

  Tor, a rocky peak on LIZARD Island.

  Trivigaunte, a desert city well south of VIRON.

  Toter, Strik’s son.

  Tuz, one of the travelers assembled in PAJAROCU.

  Urbasecundus, a foreign town not far from NEW VIRON.

  Vanished Gods, the gods of the NEIGHBORS.

  Vanished People, the NEIGHBORS.

  VIRON, the city of the LONG SUN WHORL in which SILK, HORN, NETTLE, and many others were born, also called Old Viron.

  Vulpes, an advocate of the LONG SUN WHORL.

  West Foot, the westernmost peninsula of LIZARD Island.

  The WHORL, the generation ship from which the colonists came.

  Wichote, a riverine village on BLUE’s eastern continent.

  Captain WIJZER, a master mariner of Dorp.

  Tksin, the traveler who robbed and deserted SINEW.

  Zeehm, the daughter of the RAJAN’s head gardener.

  To Every Town:

  Like you we left friends and family and the light of the Long Sun for this new whorl we share with you. We would greet our brothers at home if we could.

  We have long wished to do this. Is it not so for you?

  He-hold-fire, a man of our t
own, has labored many seasons where our lander lifts high its head above our trees. The gray man speaks to He-hold-fire and to us, and it is his word that he will fly once again.

  Soon he will rise upon fire and fly like the eagle.

  We might clasp it to our bellies. That is not the way of hunters, and there are many beds of hide. Send a man to come with us. Send a woman, if it is your custom.

  One alone from each town of this new whorl, whether he or she.

  With us the one you send will return to our old home among the stars.

  Send soon. Send one only. We will not delay.

  Speak our word to others.

  The Men Of

  PAJAROCU

  -1-

  HORN’S BOOK

  It is worthless, this old pen case I brought from Viron. It is nothing. You might go around the market all day and never find a single spirit who would trade you a fresh egg for it. Yet it holds…

  Enough.

  Yes, enough. I am sick of fancies.

  At present it holds two quills, for I have taken the third one out. Two were in it when I found it in the ashes of our shop. The third, with which I am writing, was dropped by Oreb not so long ago. I picked it up, put it in this pen case, and forgot both Oreb and his feather.

  It also holds a knife for pointing pens and the small bottle of black ink (more than half full) into which I dip mine. See how much darker my writing has become.

  It is facts I need-facts I starve for. To Green with fancies!

  My name is Horn.

  This is such a pen case as students use in Viron, the city in which I was born, and no doubt in many others-a case of black leather glued over pressboard; it has a brass hinge with a steel spring, and a little brass clamp to keep it shut. We sold them in our shop and asked six cardbits; but my father would accept four if the purchaser bargained awhile, and such purchasers always did.

  Three, if they bought something else, a quire of writing paper, say.

  The leather is badly scuffed. More facts later, when I have more time. Rajya Mantri wants to lecture me.

  * * *

  Reviewing what I wrote yesterday, I see that I have begun without plan or foresight, and in fact without the least notion of what I was trying to do or why I was trying to do it. That is how I have begun everything in life. Perhaps I need to begin before I can think clearly about the task. The chief thing is to begin, after all-after which the chief thing is to finish. I have finished worse than I began, for the most part.

  It is all in the pen case. You have to take out the ink and string it together into the right shapes. That is all.

  If I had not picked up this old pen case where my father’s shop once stood, it is possible that I might still be searching for Silk.

  For the phantom who has eluded me on three whorls.

  Silk may be here on Blue already, after all. I have dispatched letters to Han and some other towns, and we will see. It is convenient, I find, to have messengers at one’s beck and call.

  So I am searching here, although I am the only person here in Gaon who could not tell you where to find him. Searching does not necessarily imply movement. Thinking it does, or rather assuming it without thought, may have been my first and worst mistake.

  Thus I continue to search, true to my oath. I question travelers, and I write new letters subtracting some facts and adding others, composing flatteries and threats I hope will bring this town and that to my assistance; no doubt my scribe thinks I am penning another such letter at this moment, a letter that he, poor fellow, will have to copy out with broad, fair flourishes upon sheepskins scraped thin.

  We need a paper mill here, and it is the only thing that I am competent to do.

  I wish Oreb were here.

  Now that I know what I mean to do, I can begin. But not at the beginning. To begin at the beginning would consume far too much time and paper, to say nothing of ink. I am going to begin, when I do, just a day or two before the moment at which I put to sea in the sloop.

  Tomorrow then, when I have had time to decide how best to tell the convoluted tale of my long, vain search for Patera Silk-for Silk my ideal, who was the augur of our manteion in the Sun Street Quarter of Our Sacred City of Viron in the belly of the Whorl.

  When I was young.

  * * *

  The mainshaft had split-I remember that. I was taking it out of the journals when one of the twins ran in. I believe it was Hide. “A boat’s coming! A big boat’s coming!”

  I told him that they probably wanted to buy a few bales, and that his mother could sell it to them as well as I could.

  “Sinew’s here, too.”

  Just to get rid of Hide, I told him to tell his mother about it. When he had gone, I got my needier from its hiding place and stuck it in my waistband under my greasy tunic.

  Sinew was stamping up and down the beach, lovely shells of purple, rose, and purest white snapping beneath his boots. He looked surly when he saw me, so I told him to bring the good telescope out of the sloop. He would have defied me if he had possessed the courage. For half a minute we stood eye to eye; then he turned and went. I thought he was leaving, that he would put out for the mainland in his coracle and stay there for a week or a month, which to tell the truth I wanted much more than my telescope.

  The boat they came in was indeed large. I know I counted at least a dozen sails. It carried a couple of jibs, three sails on each of its big masts, and staysails. I had never seen a boat big enough to set staysails between its masts before, so I am sure of those.

  Sinew came back with the telescope. I asked whether he wanted the first look, and he sneered at me. It was always a mistake to try to treat him with any courtesy in those days, and I could have kicked myself for it. I put the telescope to my eye, wondering what Sinew was doing the second I could no longer watch him.

  It was a good instrument, made in Dorp they said, where they are good sailors and grind good lenses. (We were good sailors in New Viron, too-or thought we were-but did not grind lenses at all.) Through it I could see the faces at the gunwale, all looking toward Tail Bay, for which their boat was plainly making. Its hull was white above and black below-I recall that, too. Here on Blue the sea is silver where it is not so dark a blue that it seems it might dye cloth, not at all like Lake Limna at home where the waves were nearly always green.

  I had become used to Blue’s blue and silver sea long ago, of course. Perhaps I only think of it now because we are so far from it here in Gaon; but it seems to me, as I sit here to write at this beautifully inlaid table the Gaonese have provided for me, that I saw it then through the glass as though it were new, that there was some magic carried in the big black and white boat that made Blue new to me again. Perhaps there was, for boats are magic-living things that ordinary men like me can shape from wood and iron.

  “Probably pirates,” Sinew snarled.

  I took my eye from the telescope and saw that he had his long, steel-hilted hunting knife out and was testing its edge with his thumb. Sinew could never sharpen a knife properly (Nettle did it for him in those days), although he pretended he could; but for a moment before I returned to my study of the boat, I wondered whether he would not stab me and try to join them if pirates in fact came again. Then I put my eye back to the telescope, and saw that the faces at the gunwale included a woman’s, and that one of the men was old Patera Remora. I should make it clear here that he and Marrow were the only ones I knew well.

  There were five besides Gyrfalcon’s sailors, who had been brought along to work the boat. Perhaps I ought to list all five now and describe them, since Netde may want to show diis to others. You would do everything much better, darling, I know, working in the descriptions cleverly as you did when we wrote The Book of Silk; but it is a skill I have never possessed to the same degree.

  No doubt you remember them better than I, as well.

  Gyrfalcon is fat, with busy eyes, a noble face, and a mop of sinknut-brown hair just starting to turn gray. It was his boat, and
he let us know that the moment that he came ashore. Do you remember?

  Eschar is tall and stooped, with a long, sad face, slow to speak until his passions are roused. He was on our lander, of course, just as Marrow and Remora were.

  The woman came later, perhaps on Gyrfalcon’s lander. Her name is Blazingstar. She has humor, as you do, a rare thing in a woman. I know you liked her, and so did I. She talked about her farms, so she must own at least two in addition to her trading company.

  Marrow is large and solid, not so fat as he was at home, but balder even than I was then. When we were children, he owned a greengrocery as well as his fruit stall in the market. He still deals in vegetables and fruits mostly, I believe. I have never known him to cheat anyone, and he can be generous; but I would like to meet the man who can best him in a bargain. Marrow was the only one of the five who helped me after I was robbed in New Viron.

  His Cognizance Patera Remora is of course the head of the Vironese Faith-quite tall but not muscular, with lank gray hair he wears too long. He was at one time coadjutor in Old Viron (as we say it here). A good and a kind man, not as shrewd as he believes, prone to be too careful.

  They were too many for our little house. Hoof and Hide and I made a rude table on the beach, laying planks across boxes and barrels and bales of paper. Sinew carried out all the chairs, I brought the high and low stools I use in the mill, and you spread the planks with cloths and set what little cheer we had before our uninvited guests. And so we managed to entertain all five, and even Gyrfalcon’s sailors, with some show of decency.

  Marrow rapped the makeshift table, calling us to order. Our sons and the sailors were sitting on the beach, nudging one another, whispering, and tossing shells and pebbles into the silver waves. I would have sent them all away if I could. It did not seem to be my place to do so, and Marrow let them stay.

  “First let me thank you both for your hospitality,” he began. “You owe us no favors, since we have come to ask you for a big one-”

  Gyrfalcon interrupted, saying, “To grant you a privilege.” From the way he spoke, I felt sure that they had argued about this already.